Hi Brian!
My PC Study Bible software died on me today, so I am going to use our great Greek scholar partner, Rick Renner's, "Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2" for this week's word, "deceive" or "deceived".
HOODWINKED IN THE
LAST DAYS
Take heed that no man
deceive you. — Matthew 24:4
For those who have a
listening ear to the Spirit of God, it is clear that we have entered into the
very last part of the last days. As a result, recent decades have brought us
face to face with difficult issues, whether we wanted to be confronted with them
or not. According to Bible prophecy, things are only going to get more intense
as the days pass, because we are living at the end of the age when Jesus, Paul,
and Peter all prophesied that society as a whole would be deceived on a massive
scale.
Jesus’ disciples had
specifically asked Him, “…What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end
of the world?” (Matthew 24:3). In response to that specific question, Jesus
identified a list of exact signs that would indicate the very end of the age
and His imminent return. Jesus gave many signs, but the first sign Jesus told
them about contained a clear warning of a wide-scale deception that
would emerge in the last part of the last days — and the need for people to
prepare and guard against it. Jesus said, “…Take heed that no man deceive you”
(v. 4).
In the original
Greek, the words “take heed” were intended to jar and jolt the
disciples to get their attention. As they perked up to really listen to what
Jesus was telling them, they heard Him warn that as the present age came to a
conclusion, an unprecedented deception would attempt to encompass every part of
society.
In Matthew 24:4, the
word “deceive” is used to depict this period when it will look as if delusion
is taking over the world. It is the Greek word planao, which means to
lead astray or to wander off course. This word “deceive” could depict
a single individual who has wandered far off course, or it could
describe a whole nation or nations that have morally veered
from the position once held to be true.
Planao depicts a
person (or nation) who, although once established on solid ground, is now
morally drifting and teetering on the edge of a crooked, dangerous path. This
individual has lost his bearings and has drifted off-track. He had already
departed, or was in the process of departing, from what he once morally
believed. He has begun going cross-grain against all that was once a part of
his belief system.
In the years that
lapsed between the Old and New Testaments, this same word “deceive” was often
used to forecast a wide-scale deception that would one day envelope the earth.
It was believed by scholars of that time that this deception would be a
precursor to the glorious coming of the Messiah. Furthermore, it was widely
held that a deception of this order could occur only as a result of the
activity of evil spirits that would work intensely in the earth at the very end
of the age. Scholars believed these dark powers would lead the world into
deception en masse.
The apostle Paul also
confirmed this long-forecasted deception. In Second Thessalonians 2, he
described distinct events that would occur on the planet at the very end of the
age and continue with greater aggression and intensity. He stated that the
world’s population would become so ensnared in deception that they would be
controlled by a strong “delusion” (v. 11). The word “delusion” in Greek
is plane, a form of planao, the same word used in Matthew 24:4.
However, in Second Thessalonians 2:11, the Greek word was translated “delusion”
instead of “deception.” But the word planao nonetheless depicts a
culture that has strayed so far that it has become beguiled, bewitched, duped,
and seduced into believing a lie in place of the truth.
In Second
Thessalonians 2:11, the Holy Spirit prophesied through Paul that society in the
last days will become supernaturally hoodwinked — that is, it will be
ensnared by an unparalleled period of deception on every front. This period of
deceitfulness will be so intense that people will believe what is false over
what is obviously true, even denying facts and truths that are common sense and
that nature itself teaches (see Romans 1:20). This era of worldwide
falsehood and deception will occur at the very end of this age and will
continue into the time of the Great Tribulation. It will mark a time when wrong
belief and delusion will pervade every realm of society. This is the clear
teaching of prophetic Scripture about developments that will occur at the
conclusion of this age.
Just look at the
world around you today. Can you see deception at work? Watch the developments
in the news. In a culture where moral standards bend so easily with the times,
can you sense we have reached the tipping point where many are being deceived
even now, not only in the United States, but also around the globe?
In Matthew 24:4,
Jesus accurately foretold this worldwide deception on the earth in the last
days and alerted His disciples that it would be a sign that His return was
nigh. As we come closer and closer to the very last days of this age, we need
to remember Christ’s forewarning of a season in time in which deception would
grip the entire world. From all the signs around us, it appears that we
are already there.
This is why it is so
important that we keep our minds soaked with the Word of God, which renews us
to right thinking in a world that has morally slipped in a wrong direction. It
is imperative that we put the Word into our hearts — keeping it before our eyes
and hearing it with our ears. It’s equally important to verbalize the truth of
God’s Word to ourselves and to other believers, thus strengthening the
truth in us and between us in a day when truth is slipping
away.
Today I sense it’s my
responsibility to ask you — what is your level of commitment to your Bible? Is
it a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Psalm 119:105)? Is it the
joy and rejoicing of your heart (Jeremiah 15:16)?
Rather than become
victims of the age and spiritual casualties in the Body of Christ, we can hold
our Bibles dearer and closer to our hearts and minds than ever before. We can
reinforce ourselves against the days in which we live and the days
that are forecast as yet to come. So let’s grab hold of the unalterable truths
of God’s Word, dig our heels deep into it, and decide that we will stand firm on
the truth that never changes, regardless of how society around us changes in
the days to come!
There is certainly MUCH deception going on today, but as long as we rely on Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we will NOT be deceived! HE will make sure that we understand the Word and the times in which we are living when we seek to know! Here is Hillsong Worship with a favorite song of mine about the Word called "Your Word"!
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
